A full moon occurs in Sidereal Virgo on the evening of Saturday, 30th March 2018. This Chaitra full moon day is the first Full Moon in the Lunar New Year. (In Vedic Astrology, the Lunar New Year occurs when the Sun enters Pisces. This is the second full moon for March 2018, and is known colloquially as a “Blue Moon”.
Blue Moon
A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year: either the third of four full moons in a season, or a second full moon in a month of the common calendar. In 2018, there were two Full Moons in January, and there will also be two in March in most time zones. The Blue Moon has been caused to occur twice this year because February had no full moon at all, an event which hasn’t happened since 1999 and isn’t due to happen again until 2037.
Is a blue moon really blue? The name ‘blue moon’ has nothing to do with the colour the moon will actually appear. On occasion the moon can glow with blueish hue, according to many authorities this has to do with the dust in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Chaitra Purnima
Chaitra is a Sanskrit word meaning a temple or a memorial. Chaitra month is the first month in the lunar New Year by name Vilamba nama samvatsara (2018-2019). The old vedic lunar year began on 28 March 2017, and this Vedic new year will begin on 18th March 2018. Chaitra Amavasya (no moon day) is the last day of the old year which falls on the new Moon in Pisces, which will be on 17 March 2018.
It is believed that at the beginning of Chaitra month (masam) Lord Brahma has created the universe on this day which is celebrated as Ugadi or Gudi padwa or Cheti chand. It is also a sacred month for commencement for Vedic learning. That’s why it is one of the auspicious and sacred months for performing Upanayana sanskara (sacrament for young Brahmin boys) which marks the formal eligibility to commence the study of Vedas and Upanishads.
Chaithra masam also known as Madhu maasam marks the beginning of Spring season known as Vasanth ritam; it is first among the Hindu seasons.
During Chaitra month, many Deities are worshipped during the bright fortnight of this month apart from Lord Sri Rama, Lord Hanuman, Lord Shiva and Goddess Gauri. There is Ganajur festival, Matsya Jayanti, Lakshmi Panchami, Yamuna Chhath, Rama Navami, Kamada Ekadashi and Sri Hanuman Jayanti. In addition, Ugadi (Gudi Padwa) (New Year) is observed.
Vilambi: the New Year
Samvatsara is a Sanskrit term for “year.” In the Vedic system, there are 60 samvatsaras. Each samvatsara carries a particular essence that correlates with its Sanskrit name and also is related to its group ruler.
The samvatsara for this New Year is called Vilambi. The sages tell that Vilambi will bring “scanty crops and rains.”
The Jyotisha writings give Lord Surya the ruler of this year. Surya is the Sun God who is life-giver and time-giver and who represents our capacity for inner strength, wisdom, and will. As with the previous year (1939 Hemalambi), there is a need to attend to proper timing of events, muhurta.
Some tell that those born in the Vilambi year will be prosperous and generous. Others say those born in Vilambi may be deceitful, extremely avaricious or greedy, lazy, phlegmatic (that is, his predominant humour is Phlegm), weak, fatalist and has the habit of speaking without purpose, and keeps his or her thoughts secret.
When we follow our dharma – right conduct – for our station in life, and our duties in the home, in the workplace, in the sports fields, we can overcome the negativity purported to this year or that year. While humans are not born with tabula rasa – the blank slate – we do bring impressions and our mind across with the soul into the new body. When we follow the sandhya and chant Gayatri Mantra at morning, noon and sunset, we obtain the protection of the Goddess Gayatri. We can aspire to divinity and leave whatever others might say about this year or that year behind us. Dharmam moolam jagat, the Universe is based on eternal order, that of dharma.
Full Moon and Meditation
Full Moons are times when strong and plentiful energy floods the Earth. This particular full moon comes in the New Year, and in the month that honours the Divine as Sri Vishnu, or Maha Vishnu, who reclines on the ocean of milk and holds all of creation in sustenance. The creation is purusha, the fulness which is imbibed of His Divinity and this self-same divinity exists within man. To understand the place of Sri Vishnu, it might be useful to think of the acronym, GOD which means Generator (Brahma), Organiser (Sri Vishnu) and Destructor (Shiva – the receiver of all things). Sri Vishnu is the Organiser as it were, holding all of the Creation together and sustaining it.
This energy of this Full Moon that honours Sri Vishnu – may be taken and used for benefit. Hence, the Divine offers us the choice to harness energies for planetary benefit by doing group – or individual – meditation and directing energy in the form of love, light or healing, wherever there is a need. As there are a plenitude of places where humanity is suffering on Earth in this day (one thinks of the children in Syria, the women of the #MeToo movement, the banks engaging in loans misbehaviour and misuse of funds, racial discrimination and denial of climate change) … all these people, suffering, all these issues – and more – benefit from Full Moon Meditation, with Sending of Light and love.
The Spiritual Hierarchy have advised us that the times of the Full Moon are times when energy is magnified, and multiplied. Groups sitting together in meditation on peace, harmony, goodwill towards all have a manifold affect on the energies surrounding our planet when they do this on the Full Moon day. If it is not possible to do so on the actual day, then, we have been told, the day before or the day after will also serve as days of excellence in sending out positive harmony, peace and helpful energies to all places on our Earth.
Meditating on light can raise the level of light within the individual. Meditating on light for our home, Planet Earth, can raise the level of light in places where this is needed. For LIGHT can be, as you know when you turn on a light in a room it has different voltages in different countries – in some countries it is brighter – sometimes it is darker. In a way, the Light in each individual on this Earth is the same. Sometimes it is brighter and sometimes it is darker. Such meditation is always of help to others.
A meditation on light is available on this website, here (opens in new window)
Focus on Planetary Healing
We have been advised by the Hierarchy that part of the Planetary Healing meditations at the time of Full Moon are to include healing of the waters – external waters on our planet, and internal waters within the human. The Earth’s water, in particular, needs healing.
Jalarm tells that ALL WATER on this planet needs cleansing … “
Jalarm: It is losing its energy field of Light and Love, and this needs to be raised so a focus on WATER – ALL WATER upon the Earth, this planet, is important.
… … though it is not meant to be a separation, is also the water that exists in every form of life that has fluid in its body – this needs to be cleared as well. Does that make sense?
Another helpful form of group activity on Full Moon days is calling on the Angels, the Spirit Guides, the Star Beings of the Hierarchy, and the different Divinities – for all are but different forms of the one substance we may call GOD – and calling upon them for help. All prayers are answered; all prayers for the Good of All are responded to. It is well known that Divinity in its different names and forms takes the energies of devotion to God, the prayers, the offerings of Love, Harmony, Peace, Light and distribute this to places where it is needed around the Earth. Such meditations and prayers can also be offered on Full Moon days. Many prayers hail the Lord – or God – as a God of Mercy and Compassion. Compassion makes no difference between those who suffer and those who cause that suffering. Compassion is for all and such mercy offered in our prayers and meditation goes out for the Good of the All.
Compassion is for all and such mercy offered in our prayers and meditation goes out for the Good of the All.
